Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

  According to  entrepreneur and author   Margaret Hefferman , as reported a few years ago in  Inc.  magazine, the  secrets of the most productive people are that they do these three things : They  take breaks . Breaks refresh the mind and allow you to see new situations.  They  are   great collaborators .  They  have lives outside work . In fact, the most successful have rich private lives that include interests that hone different skills and that let them think in different ways.

According to  entrepreneur and author   Margaret Hefferman , as reported a few years ago in  Inc.  magazine, the  secrets of the most productive people are that they do these three things : They  take breaks . Breaks refresh the mind and allow you to see new situations.  They  are   great collaborators .  They  have lives outside work . In fact, the most successful have rich private lives that include interests that hone different skills and that let them think in different ways.

According to  entrepreneur and author   Margaret Hefferman , as reported a few years ago in  Inc.  magazine, the  secrets of the most productive people are that they do these three things : They  take breaks . Breaks refresh the mind and allow you to see new situations.  They  are   great collaborators .  They  have lives outside work . In fact, the most successful have rich private lives that include interests that hone different skills and that let them think in different ways.

According to  entrepreneur and author   Margaret Hefferman , as reported a few years ago in  Inc.  magazine, the  secrets of the most productive people are that they do these three things : They  take breaks . Breaks refresh the mind and allow you to see new situations.  They  are   great collaborators .  They  have lives outside work . In fact, the most successful have rich private lives that include interests that hone different skills and that let them think in different ways

According to  entrepreneur and author   Margaret Hefferman , as reported a few years ago in  Inc.  magazine, the  secrets of the most productive people are that they do these three things : They  take breaks . Breaks refresh the mind and allow you to see new situations.  They  are   great collaborators .  They  have lives outside work . In fact, the most successful have rich private lives that include interests that hone different skills and that let them think in different ways.

According to  entrepreneur and author   Margaret Hefferman , as reported recently in  Inc.  magazine, the  secrets of the most productive people are that they do these three things : They  take breaks . Breaks refresh the mind and allow you to see new situations.  They  are   great collaborators .  They  have lives outside work . In fact, the most successful have rich private lives that include interests that hone different skills and that let them think in different ways.

According to entrepreneur and author Margaret Hefferman , as reported recently in Inc. magazine, the secrets of the most productive people are that they do these three things :  They take breaks . Breaks refresh the mind and allow you to see new situations.  They are great collaborators .  They have lives outside work . In fact, the most successful have rich private lives that include interests that hone different skills and that let them think in different ways.

Here are 10 tips for how to maximize employee involvement : Have active ways to listen to your employees. Check often with employees to see if the information you are sharing with them is what they need and what they want. Share information about customer satisfaction with employees. Discuss financial performance with your employees and be sure everyone understands the importance of profitability and how they can contribute to profitability. Allow ad hoc teams among employees to form to address organizational problems and work with those teams to tackle the identified issues. Encourage employees to make suggestions for improvement whether those ideas are large or small. Take an idea from one employee and share it with other employees and teams and let everyone make a contribution to build upon that idea. Train! For long-term employees, find ways to keep their jobs interesting through new assignments and challenges. Conduct meetings around specific issues and brai...

By:  Guest Author, Kyle Lagunas Consumer technologies are infiltrating the workplace. Employees have access to powerful tools, applications and networks at home, and expect that same access at work. From employee and manager self-service portals to the growing number of social media elements in performance and learning management, the technology employees expect to find in the workplace is changing. How will this shift--the consumerization of IT--impact the way an organization recruits, engages and manages its workforce? I recently coordinated a roundtable with thought leaders across a range of Human Resources functions to participate in a discussion which sought to explore the challenges this trend poses--and to see what opportunity it presents to HR.  Here are some of the highlights from that roundtable:   Lagunas:  There’s a lot of conversation around the need for HR to position itself as a more strategic and consultative, rather than ad...

Entitlement is "killing your business," says author Brad Hams. And after more than 15 years working with hundreds of companies, Hams says he knows "that the vast majority of employees addicted to entitlement actually want to engage, want to contribute, and feel much better about themselves when they are in an environment that requires them to do so." Hams takes a no holds barred approach in his new book, Ownership Thinking -- How to End Entitlement and Create a Culture of Accountability, Purpose and Profit . He believes that: Roughly 8 percent of potential profit may be falling through the cracks in your company if you suffer from a culture of entitlement Ownership Thinking is a provocative read for leaders within an organization and for every level generation of employees who are guided by those leaders. "Entitlement has become an enormous problem in our culture, and I'm afraid it's getting worse with every generation," says Hams...

As a leader in your business, try these six ideas to give your business a jump-start : Ask for ideas from employees in all parts of your business . Don't ask for ideas only from your product development or marketing departments. Be sure all employees clearly understand your vision and the mission of your business. Brainstorm ways to take advantage of your strengths . Determine how to overcome your business' weaknesses . Choose which opportunities you will prioritize to help keep everyone focused on a common goal . Celebrate your successes regularly and encourage learning from your mistakes .

Here are some wise guidelines that Verizon Wireless has used to promote effective, efficient and responsible e-mail use within its company. You can find these guidelines in the new book, Managers, Can You Hear Me Now? , written by Denny F. Strigl, former CEO and President of Verizon Wireless. E-mail should bring closure to work , not create more work. Before you write an e-mail, ask yourself if calling or visiting the recipient will bring better communication . Keep e-mails short . Make your point in just the subject line or the space in the preview pane. Don't assume other people are staring at their screens, waiting for your e-mail . If just one person needs information or clarification, don't send your e-mail to a group. Never send e-mail when you're angry . Assume anything you put in writing will be leaked to the press or to your competitors. Stay accountable. Sending an e-mail doesn't transfer responsibility . E-mail is never an acceptable e...

The typical at-desk employee in the workplace loses 2.1 hours of productivity every day to interruptions and distractions, reports Basex, an IT research and consulting firm. Those interruptions come from e-mail alerts, instant messages, cell phones and handheld devices that constantly buzz. The typical employee also checks e-mail 50 times a day. Each time, the employee gets sidetracked, and their attention span suffers. Productivity drops. Thinking time decreases. As a leader in the workplace, work with your employees to manage e-mails and to lessen daily interruptions. Try these techniques: Turn off all visual and sound alerts that announce new e-mail. Check e-mail at designated times during the day . Attempt to not check e-mail more often than every 45 minutes. Whenever possible, communicate by phone or face-to-face . This can actually save time and helps to build relationships, which suffer when e-mail is a workplace's predominant mode of communicat...

Here are 10 tips for how to maximize employee involvement : Have active ways to listen to your employees. Check often with employees to see if the information you are sharing with them is what they need and what they want. Share information about customer satisfaction with employees. Discuss financial performance with your employees and be sure everyone understands the importance of profitability and how they can contribute to profitability. Allow ad hoc teams among employees to form to address organizational problems and work with those teams to tackle the identified issues. Encourage employees to make suggestions for improvement whether those ideas are large or small. Take an idea from one employee and share it with other employees and teams and let everyone make a contribution to build upon that idea. Train! For long-term employees, find ways to keep their jobs interesting through new assignments and challenges. Conduct meetings around specific issues and brainstor...

Having your employees learn more about what their fellow employees do is invaluable. When everyone knows how each job/position on your team fits together, your team can accomplish so much more. Plus, the new-found knowledge drives a better appreciation for what everyone does, and proves to the team, that success comes only when all the pieces fit together like a well-oiled machine . So, plan a half day where you pair up employees. Once paired, one employee explains to his (or her) partner what he does in a "typical" day. Allow enough time for sharing samples of his work and for Q&A. Then, it's the second person's turn to share about their " typical " day. If your half day is a morning, suggest the pairs of employees have lunch together, where they can finish by incorporating more discussion about away-from-work hobbies and interests. Schedule your job learning days for once a month and have your employees meet with different partner...

United 's Vice President for HR-Employee Relations, Donna Towle, says that if co-workers relate to one another within a company culture that fosters: Trust Pride Camaraderie ...then great customer service falls into place. Equally important for United is listening to its frontline employees.  Towle, in an interview featured in the airline's in-flight magazine, says there can't be a disconnect between management and the frontlines . To ensure two-communication is taking place, United: Dispatches teams to act as impartial liaisons between leadership and frontline co-workers to ensure that employees have someone in management they can speak to who is neutral and unbiased. Towle also works with United's leadership team to help ensure that: Management delivers on promises Shows appreciation for good work and for extra effort Seeks and responds to suggestions and ideas Shows interest in employees as human beings

StLouis magazine is featuring in its January issue 60 companies that they deemed "great places to work". Helping those companies to earn that honor are the perks they give their employees, some of which you might want to consider for 2011. Here's a sampling of the perks that cover the vast range offered by the 60 companies: ARCO Construction Company -- Paid sabbaticals after every five years with the company Armstrong Teasdale -- Women's career-coaching program Bryan Cave -- Backup day-care/elder-care services Build-A-Bear Workshop -- Health Insurance for part-time employees Boeing -- Continuing education tuition support Centene Corporation -- Dry-cleaning pick-up/delivery; on-site car washes and oil changes HOK -- Paid paternity leave LarsonAllen -- Development coaches for employees Maritz -- Health fair Monsanto -- Lactation rooms Nestle Purina PetCare Company -- On-site tailor Ralcorp Holdings -- New jobs listed internally first Scottrad...

Lose weight. Exercise more. Stop smoking. Read more. Shop less. Volunteer. Okay, so you've found your New Year's resolution for your personal life. But, have you identified your New Year's resolution for your workplace life? If not, and you want to be a more effective leader for your team at work in 2011, select one or more of these 70 New Year's resolutions for leaders: 1.  Don't micromanage 2.  Don't be a bottleneck 3.  Focus on outcomes, not minutiae 4.  Build trust with your colleagues before a crisis comes 5.  Assess your company's strengths and weaknesses at all times 6.  Conduct annual risk reviews 7.  Be courageous, quick and fair 8.  Talk more about values more than rules 9.  Reward how a performance is achieved and not only the performance 10.  Constantly challenge your team to do better 11.  Celebrate your employees' successes, not your own 12.  Err on the side of taking action 13.  Communicate ...

Here's more good advice from The Everything Coaching And Mentoring Book : Professional behavior on the job means that work habits are strong and consistent.  Your organization's work ethic should be solution- and positive-results-oriented. And you should regularly take inventory of these five points of professionalism : Honesty and integrity Learning and initiative Resilience Positive attitude Teamwork Check out these useful online resources for more coaching and mentoring tips and advice: Micomentor The Center for Coaching and Mentoring The Coaching and Mentoring Network Coaching and Mentoring for Small Business Owners Manager's Forum Coaching and Mentoring Careers Peer Resources Coaching and Mentoring Training

You can be a green leader at work and help save the planet and money for your business, by following these practices and instilling these habits with your employees: Photocopiers: Use the "standby" button on your copiers and that will lighten your energy load by 70 percent. This is particularly important, considering the average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of copy paper each year. Fax Machines : Avoid a cover page when possible and you'll save paper on both ends. Or, better yet, use Internet faxing. Paper : Recycle and use only recycled paper. Postage Meters : Try printing online stamps instead of using a postage meter. You'll save on equipment and meter maintenance. Printers : Print double-sided pages and use an inkjet if you can. Laser printers use three hundred watts of electricity, while inkjets use only 10. Computers : Activate the power management function, or sleep mode, on your monitors and CPU boxes. If just ten employees did it, they would ...